Kentucky State Standards for Social Studies: Grade 6

KY.PS. Program of Studies 2006

SS-6-GC. Big Idea: Government and Civics - The study of government and civics equips students to understand the nature of government and the unique characteristics of American democracy, including its fundamental principles, structure, and the role of citizens. Understanding the historical development of structures of power, authority, and governance and their evolving functions in contemporary U.S. society and other parts of the world is essential for developing civic competence. An understanding of civic ideals and practices of citizenship is critical to full participation in society and is a central purpose of the social studies. (Academic Expectations 2.14, 2.15)

SS-6-GC-U-1. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that the purposes and sources of power in present day governments vary, each reflecting and impacting the culture(s) of the people governed. 8
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Social Studies State Standard SS-6-GC-U-1.

SS-6-GC-U-2. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that individual rights of people vary under different forms of government. 8
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Social Studies State Standard SS-6-GC-U-2.

SS-6-GC-U-3. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that democratic governments of the present day function to protect the rights, liberty and property of their citizens while promoting the common good. 3
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Social Studies State Standard SS-6-GC-U-3.

SS-6-GC-U-4. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that the United States does not exist in isolation; its democratic form of government has played and continues to play a role in our interconnected society. 7
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Social Studies State Standard SS-6-GC-U-4.

SS-6-CS. Big Idea: Cultures and Societies - Culture is the way of life shared by a group of people, including their ideas and traditions. Cultures reflect the values and beliefs of groups in different ways (e.g., art, music, literature, religion); however, there are universals connecting all cultures. Culture influences viewpoints, rules, and institutions in a global society. Students should understand that people form cultural groups throughout the United States and the World, and that issues and challenges unite and divide them. (Academic Expectations 2.16, 2.17)

SS-6-CS-U-1. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that culture is a system of beliefs, knowledge, institutions, customs/traditions, languages and skills shared by a group of people. Through a society's culture, individuals learn the relationships, structures, patterns and processes to be members of the society. 2
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Social Studies State Standard SS-6-CS-U-1.

SS-6-CS-U-2. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that cultures develop social institutions (e.g., government, economy, education, religion, family) to structure society, influence behavior and respond to human needs. 3
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Social Studies State Standard SS-6-CS-U-2.

SS-6-CS-U-3. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that interactions among individuals and groups assume various forms (e.g., compromise, cooperation, conflict, competition) and are influenced by culture. 6
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Social Studies State Standard SS-6-CS-U-3.

SS-6-CS-U-4. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that culture affects how people in a society behave in relation to groups and their environment. 2
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Social Studies State Standard SS-6-CS-U-4.

SS-6-CS-U-5. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that an appreciation of the diverse complexity of cultures is essential in our global society. 6
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Social Studies State Standard SS-6-CS-U-5.

SS-6-E. Big Idea: Economics - Economics includes the study of production, distribution and consumption of goods and services. Students need to understand how their economic decisions affect them, others, the nation and the world. The purpose of economic education is to enable individuals to function effectively both in their own personal lives and as citizens and participants in an increasingly connected world economy. Students need to understand the benefits and costs of economic interaction and interdependence among people, societies, and governments. (Academic Expectations 2.18)

SS-6-E-U-1. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that the basic economic problem confronting individuals, societies and governments across present day geographic regions is scarcity: as a result of scarcity, economic choices and decisions must be made. 5
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Social Studies State Standard SS-6-E-U-1.

SS-6-E-U-2. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that economic systems (e.g., traditional, command, market, mixed) and a variety of fundamental economic concepts (e.g., supply and demand, opportunity cost) affect individuals, societies and governments of the present day. 5
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Social Studies State Standard SS-6-E-U-2.

SS-6-E-U-3. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that individuals, businesses and governments must make economic decisions about the use of resources in the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services. 2
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Social Studies State Standard SS-6-E-U-3.

SS-6-E-U-4. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that markets are institutional arrangements that enable buyers and sellers to exchange goods and services. 4
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Social Studies State Standard SS-6-E-U-4.

SS-6-E-U-5. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that our global economy provides for a level of interdependence among individuals, regions and nations of the present day. 5
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Social Studies State Standard SS-6-E-U-5.

SS-6-G. Big Idea: Geography - Geography includes the study of the five fundamental themes of location, place, regions, movement and human/environmental interaction. Students need geographic knowledge to analyze issues and problems to better understand how humans have interacted with their environment over time, how geography has impacted settlement and population, and how geographic factors influence climate, culture, the economy and world events. A geographic perspective also enables students to better understand the past and present and to prepare for the future. (Academic Expectations 2.19)

SS-6-G-U-1. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that the use of geographic tools (e.g., maps, globes, photographs, models, charts, graphs, databases, and satellite images) and mental maps helps interpret information, analyze patterns and spatial data, and solve geographic issues in the present day. 28
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Social Studies State Standard SS-6-G-U-1.

SS-6-G-U-2. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that patterns emerge as humans move, settle, and interact on Earth's surface and can be identified by examining the location of physical and human characteristics, how they are arranged, and why they are in particular locations. Economic, political, cultural and social processes interact to shape patterns of human populations, interdependence, cooperation and conflict. 9
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Social Studies State Standard SS-6-G-U-2.

SS-6-G-U-3. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that regions help us to see Earth as an integrated system of places and features organized by such principles as landform types, political units, economic patterns and cultural groups. 6
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Social Studies State Standard SS-6-G-U-3.

SS-6-G-U-4. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that people depend on, adapt to, or modify the environment to meet basic needs. Human actions modify the physical environment and in turn, the physical environment limits or promotes human activities in the present day. 14
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Social Studies State Standard SS-6-G-U-4.

SS-6-G-U-5. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that citizens in an interdependent global community change their environment through the use of land and other resources. Many of the important issues facing societies and nations involve the consequences of interactions between human and physical systems. 36
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Social Studies State Standard SS-6-G-U-5.

SS-6-HP. Big Idea: Historical Perspective - History is an account of events, people, ideas, and their interaction over time that can be interpreted through multiple perspectives. In order for students to understand the present and plan for the future, they must understand the past. Studying history engages students in the lives, aspirations, struggles, accomplishments and failures of real people. Students need to think in an historical context in order to understand significant ideas, beliefs, themes, patterns and events, and how individuals and societies have changed over time in Kentucky, the United States and the World. (Academic Expectations 2.20)

SS-6-HP-U-1. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that interactions among countries and people are complex because of cultural, political, economic, geographic and historical differences.

SS-6-HP-U-2. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that people and groups react and adapt to change over time in a variety of ways based on their needs, goals and experiences. 8
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Social Studies State Standard SS-6-HP-U-2.